It said it on the whiteboard in the Menlo locker room: WBAL Champs!!!

The Knights made that statement come true, bouncing back from their first league loss of the season with a 64-43 victory Friday over Sacred Heart Prep.

“Everything is about us, not who we’re playing,’’ Menlo coach Keith Larsen told his team in a celebratory post-game address. “It’s about us and the effort we bring on the defensive end.’’

Menlo (14-7, 11-1) has a two-game lead over Priory with two West Bay Athletic League games left.

Menlo has already beaten Priory twice, so even in the event of a totally unlikely but mathematically possible tie for first (Menlo has games remaining with seventh-place Harker and eighth-place Crystal Springs Uplands) the Knights would hold the tie-breaker.

Clinching against rival Sacred Heart Prep made it all the sweeter.

“My first three years we didn’t beat Prep at anything,’’ said senior point guard Hayden Pegley. “I heard `we own Valpo,’’ nine, 10 times. I told myself before football season I’m going to hear it from our school at least three times, in football and home and away in basketball.’’

A 20-6 second quarter extended a 15-13 lead to 35-19 at halftime and Menlo cruised from there.

Joe Foley led the way with 20 points. Thomas Brown scored 15 and Riley Woodson had 11.

Tevin Panchal led Sacred Heart Prep (11-11, 7-5) with 20 points.

Palma and Half Moon Bay look to be Menlo’s primary competition in the upcoming CCS Division IV playoffs, although it remains to be seen if any of the three get selected for the Open. Palma is a definite possibility.

“I think we can compete with all of them if we’re at full strength,’’ Larsen said. “I really like our chances in CCS. We’ve improved so much.’’

Girls basketball

Menlo (13-9, 4-4) held on for a 52-50 victory over Sacred Heart Prep in the first game of the evening at Menlo.

SHP’s last lead was at 10-9 in the first quarter. Menlo’s biggest lead was at 32-23 in the third quarter. But the Gators made things interesting in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 40-33 they went on an 8-2 run to pull to within one at 42-41 on a 3-pointer by freshman Charlotte Levison and then closed to 51-50 after a 3-pointer by Zoe Zaharias with 36 seconds left.

“A game like this helps so much when you get into the postseason,’’ Menlo coach John Paye said. “It was a great high school basketball game.’’

SHP (11-9, 2-6) was hamstrung due to the absence of Levison for much of the game. The team’s leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, Levison picked up three fouls in the first quarter and had to sit the remainder of the half.

Then she picked up her fourth foul two minutes into the third quarter. She still managed to score 13 points. Tatum Angotti had 11.

“We were challenged by foul trouble,’’ SHP coach Melanie Murphy said. “It hurt our rotation. To only lose by two points is something to hang our hat on.’’

Menlo’s Sam Erisman led all scorers with 28 points. Mohini Gupta scored 10.

Paye said a number of teams will be grouped together in the upcoming CCS Division IV playoffs, but that he expects his team to receive the No. 1 seed.

“I’m sure we’ll see Sacred Heart Prep again,’’ he said.

That would suit the Gators fine.

“Every time we play Menlo it’s a rivalry game,’’ Murphy said. “In CCS the stakes would be higher. It would be fun. We’d like to see them again, for sure.’’